These will help me in my resolution to cook more and eat out less. I'm going back to the "one fancy home-cooked meal a week, cooked with D" rule that has lapsed in the last year, and I'd also like to be able to throw together meals at other times that aren't cereal, leftovers, pasta with premade sauce, or canned soup with frozen veggies mixed in.

By the way, happy winter solstice, everyone! And thanks to those who made my holiday party fun. I found out today that the invite that I sent to the ballroom team never made it, though - stupid majordomo! Ah well, there's always next time.

Mix water, sugar and cornsyrup in a pot and stir. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolve. Boil until it reaches 260 degrees F. To test if the candy is ready: get a glass of cold water and drop some of the stuff in it. If it forms a hard ball (stiff and brittle)...you win.

While the divinity is boiling, whip the egg whites until they form stiff foamy peaks (looks like meringue), carefully pour the candy mixture via a small stream into the egg white mixture while mixing (preferably with a mixer). Once the candy is added and completely incorporated...add vanilla and almond favoring. Continue beating on a medium setting until it loses its wet gloss (kinda dull). (That is the tricky part...knowing when it is right). Then stop beating and use a buttered spoon to drop the candy onto wax paper. Let it dry for about 12 hours (you can eat it before) and then give to friends so that they can go into sugar shock!

I'll just point you to my recipe page. And I'll try and remember to let people know when I update it because there are a bunch of recipes that are on my computer but aren't yet on the page. Like sugar cookies and latkes.

Tequila Christmas Cookies:>1c water>1 tsp baking soda>1c sugar>1 tsp salt>1c brown sugar>1 tsp lemon juice>4 large eggs>1c nuts>2c dried fruit>1 bottle of Jose Cuervo TequilaSample the Cuervo to check the quality.Take a large bowl, check Cuervo again to be sure it is of the highestquality, pour one level cup and drink.Turn on the electric mixer... beat one cup of butter in a large fluffybowl.Add one teaspoon of sugar...beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, try another cup...just in case.Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick up the frigging fruit off the floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who givesshz a sheet. Check the Jose Cuervo. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table.Add a spoon of sugar, or whatever you can find. Greash the oven.Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget tobeat off the turner.Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Cose Juervo andmake sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.Cheery Mistmas!!

This is another of John's favorites, and we've shown it to others who liked it enough to add it to their rotation. It's tasty, but it takes about 45 minutes. This isn't a good freezer recipe; it also isn't nearly as tasty the second night as it is the first. I forgot which cookbook this came from.

Heat oil in wide skillet and add onions, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and salt. Cook over medium-high heat until onions are soft, about 10 minutes (keep and eye on the heat--onions should cook fast but not burn).

Add lentils and broth or water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove hte cover and add tomatoes and currants. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cover again. Cook for 10 minutes more, or until lentils are tender.

Serve over rice topped with feta (or parmesan) cheese. The feta adds a lot to this dish.

First boil the lentils until they are almost cooked. (They should be soft, but the grains should not come apart). Now in a pan, add oil, minced garlic. Saute until the garlic turns brownish. Add onions, saute until brownish. Now add the boiled lentils along with the excess water, then the spices : turmeric, cumin and chilly powder. Stir until the spices mix. Cook until the lentils come apart. Add the chopped tomato. Take the pan off the heat about 2 or 3 mins after adding the tomato.

Notes: This is what I cooked last night for the party except I doubled everything except the red pepper flakes and cajun seasoning (1 tbl. each) and the linguine (where I used about 20 oz.) and the cooking wine (which was omitted). This is really spicy as printed, but I apparently still didn't scale it back enough. I also think this recipe uses a lot of green onion and parsley (which I think of as more of a garnish), so you may want to substitute in your favorite vegetable that goes with a cream sauce. And, if I'm honest, preparing the shrimp is a pain in the neck. Diced chicken breast might work well in its place.

Start a cookbook collection. I don't know what you have, but you'll want to start with a classic "basics" book, like the Joy of Cooking, How to Cook Everything, the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and so on. Then explore what sounds good. Honestly, everything I've made out of the new Joy of Cooking has been excellent, except for their new dark fruitcake recipe.

Over the summer when I was cooking a lot for my apartment, my standards were lentil, potato leek, or vegetable soup (out of the Joy of Cooking), pizzas (a big batch once a week), and black beans (a big vat once a week). It's easy to lapse when you're stressed out, but spending an afternoon cooking is a good stress-releaser.

I'll copy-paste the email I sent to the girls once the summer was over with instructions for their favorite recipes:

Joy of Cooking's dough recipe is fine, *EXCEPT*Use 1 tsp of salt, not 1 Tbsp of salt. You don't need to let it risefor more than the amount of time it takes to make tomato sauce and gratecheese, but make sure that you knead it until it's smooth.

It's better if you make it yourself. My pizza version tastes nasty onits own, but works well on pizza with lots of cheese. Pulverize 2 cupsfresh basil leaves, 1 clove garlic, and just enough olive oil to make achunky leaf paste (too much olive oil will make your pizza too oily).Add no more than a pinch or two of salt. Spread thinly over your pizza,top with a mozzarella and parmesan mix, and feel free to add pine nuts.

Toppings:

I soaked the eggplant slices in saltwater and sauteed them in olive oiluntil they looked somewhat cooked.I sauteed the potato slices in olive oil before putting on the pizza tomake sure they were actually cooked.

Mexican stuff

Salsa:

Dice your desired volume of tomatoes into small pieces.Dice maybe a third to half that volume of onion. Add half what youthink you might want. Taste. Add more onion until you achieve desiredonion-nature of salsa.Green onions are yummy in salsa. You can use them in addition to orinstead of white round onions.Mince a handful of cilantro, add to mix.Mince a small amount of fresh jalapeno, add conservatively until youreach slightly less than your desired hotness (it will get stronger overtime). By small, I mean you probably need less than a quarter of areasonably spicy pepper for a 2 or 3 tomato bowl of salsa.Add salt. Start with a pinch, and keep adding pinches and mixing untilit tastes good.

The roasted tomato chipotle salsa in the Joy of Cooking is really good,except you probably only need half the onion/cilantro/pepper mix for thenumber of tomatoes they advise.

Guacamole:

Mash an avocado.Add half a diced tomato.Add maybe 1/8 a diced onion.Add some minced cilantro.Add a spoonful of sour cream and mix thoroughly. It's weird, but itreally tastes good.Conservatively add salt as in above until it tastes right.

1. Wash beans thoroughly & pick out bad beans. Put them into a deep bowl with water 2 inches above beans. Cover and soak overnight.2. Pour beans into a 3-4 qt soup kettle with same soaking water. If necessary, add ore water so that the beans will be covered 1 inch above.3. Add to the beans: Left hand ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to moderate. Cover and cook beans until tender (about 1 hour). Use only a wooden spoon in stirring.4. Remove bay leaf and what it left of the tomato, onion, pepper and garlic.5. Right Side Ingredients: In a skillet heat oil and saute the onions and green pepper until transparent. Add everything else except sherry. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more, then add to beans. Cook beans for another half hour.6. Correct seasoning and add sherry. Serve hot with cooked long grain white rice and raw chopped onions. Serve with olive oil on side.

This is easy, but invaluable, and I feel like I need some penance to atone for the cookie post. You will need

1) Medium or short-grain rice. Cal-rose works well. Find it in the Asian foods section at the grocery store. It is not with the other rice for some reason.2) Rice cooker or medium sauce pan3) A large bowl, like a salad bowl for tossing the rice.4) A spatula, preferably wooden. There is a special kind with a slanted edge. Specialty cookware store is your best bet.5) Rice vinegar, and some sugar or salt depending on how you want your rice to taste.

3/4 cup (dry) will make plenty of rice for 2 people. So we will assume 3/4 cup.

Step 1: Get the starch and chaff off of the rice kernels. Soak 3/4 cup of rice in 2 cups of cold water for 15 minutes. Pour the water off (it will be a little cloudy) and put 2 cups of fresh cold water in. Soak 15 minutes. Pour off again.

Step 2: Soften the rice hull and begin to activate gluten so that the stickiness will happen. You have rinsed the rice, and drained it. Now pour 2 cups of cold water in with the rice. Soak for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Cook the rice. If you have a rice cooker, all you have to do is turn it on. If you are cooking in a saucepan, bring everything to a boil, turn the heat down to low, and then cover it. Do not stir or touch it! It is ready when the rice has absorbed all the water. You will see craters form in the surface of your rice. It's about 15-20 minutes depending on your elevation.

Step 4: Activate gluten, add flavors. Dump the rice in a large bowl. It will be pretty sticky. We are going to make it really sticky. This is a little hard to describe. You want to hold the bowl steady at an angle and toss the rice with the spatula. The motion is halfway between beating a cake batter and turning an omelet. You want a folding motion, but you want it quick. The object is to cool the rice very quickly without cutting any kernels in half. Some rice is going to get on the floor. It's inevitable. You will feel the rice begin to thicken. Pinch some in your fingers. If it makes a nice ball, you're just about done. Flavor the rice with a little rice vinegar, or a mixture of rice vinegar and sugar. I recommend at least some vinegar if you are using this rice with sushi wrappers or fish. Oh, use your same folding motion when you add the vinegar, only slower.

Step 5: Eat. The rice should be pasty and very spreadable. You can use cool water on the edge of the spatula to prevent sticking. If you are making Nigiri with some sushi-grade tuna that you bought at Market St. Grill in Salt Lake, then you should shape your rice balls now. As the rice cools and the gluten action slows, it will stick together, but resist sticking to new things. You can make the rice balls now and keep them for a couple of days, but not the other way around.

Sorry this recipe is so long. Once you get a feel for this it's really easy, and sushi is the best food in the whole world 'cept for pie.